My Stove Top Chili is a hearty, flavor-packed classic made with tender ground beef, beans, and a rich, spiced tomato base. Simmered to perfection on the stovetop, this comforting dish is easy to make and perfect for cozy nights or game day gatherings. Serve it with your favorite toppings for a warm and satisfying meal.
While fall is the perfect time of year to break out a large pot and get my stove top chili cooking away, it is a versatile dish year-round. Grab some easy frozen french fries to make chili cheese fries, or hot dogs for chili dogs to help the recipe stretch a little further.
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We were inspired to make a Stove Top Chili recipe because our slow cookers are always in use on game-time with dips or festive drinks! Check out our Slow Cooker Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip, Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese Velveeta, Spiked Apple Cider Crockpot, or Hot Chocolate Crock Pot Recipe.
Why You Will Love Chili on the Stove Top
- Quick and Easy: This homemade chili recipe comes together easily.
- Hearty: Comforting on a chilly day, homemade chili is a fibre and protein-packed meal.
- Versatile: Not just in what you can do with it, but what you can add to it. Whether you use whatever you have in the fridge or follow some of our favorite substitutions below, you'll be pleasantly surprised about all the possibilities with this recipe.
Ingredients
This dish requires a good selection of seasonings to create the perfectly rounded out flavor. Tender meat and fresh vegetables make this a quick dish that will fill your family's bellies with deliciousness.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Helps keep the beef from sticking to the pot.
- Yellow Onion: Adds a subtle sweetness versus a white onion.
- Garlic Cloves: Fresh garlic adds a deeper flavor versus powdered.
- Chili Powder: Will add a subtle spiciness to the dish.
- Sea Salt: Salt will help elevate all the flavors overall.
- Ground Cumin: While adding a slightly peppery flavor, it can also provide a subtle smokiness.
- Ground Paprika: Adds a hint of sweetness as well as provides an enhances color. While you can sub this for chili powder, too much can result in an overly bitter flavor.
- Dried Oregano: Adds a subtle peppery flavor.
- Tomato Paste: This helps to enhance the tomato flavor.
- Lean Ground Beef: This is the key ingredient in most chilis, but you have a lot of flexibility here!
- Red Kidney Beans: Another staple ingredient in a chili, and the possibilities are endless.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes: These will help speed up the cook time, whereas fresh would need to cook down longer, but they also balance the flavors.
For this recipe, you'll want to have on hand a large pot with a lid, measuring cups and spoons and a spatula.
Substitutions and Variations
Love this recipe but want to make it your own? The possibilities are endless when it comes to chili recipes, but here are a few helpful hints to get your wheels turning.
- Sausage: Ground beef and sausage chili is another great way to mix it up; and if you like spice, try a spicy Italian sausage.
- Sweet Potato: Cube up some sweet potatoes or yams for a heartier meal and make yourself a sweet potato and ground beef chili.
- Beans: Sub garbanzo and black beans for the ground meat and make yourself a three-bean chili recipe!
How to Make Our Stove Top Chili Recipe
Check out how quick and easy it was to make this stove top chili recipe in just a few simple steps.
Over medium heat, add olive oil to a large pot. When the oil is heated, add onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Toss in garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add chili powder, sea salt, ground cumin, ground paprika, and dried oregano, and cook for 1 minute, then add in tomato paste and mix.
Add ground beef to the pot and cook until no longer pink. Pour in kidney beans and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook with the lid on for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice. Serve with freshly grated cheese, sliced green onions and a dollop of sour cream.
Hint: While I do suggest about a 40-minute cook time, there is no harm in letting the chili simmer on low for a little longer. The extra time will only allow the flavors to develop further increasing the overall deliciousness of the final product.
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How to Store this Easy Stove Top Chili
Whenever the weather starts to cool down, I always love meal-prepping this easy stove top chili recipe.
- Refrigerator: Once your chili has fully cooled, place in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: I recommend using an airtight container, leaving some space for expansion and freezing for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheating: We recommend reheating in the microwave incrementally or on the stovetop. Likely, the chili has thickened, you can add a bit of beef broth or strained tomatoes and water to thin it out as you warm it up.
- Make Ahead: You can make a batch of this classic chili for a later date. Simply refrigerate or freeze in a labeled and dated container to enjoy later!
What to Serve with this Stove Top Chili Recipe
- Mac and Cheese: We always plan to make a Ground Beef Chili Mac from these leftovers! We love how the creamy flavors of our Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese or Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese Velveeta recipes pair with this dish.
- Hot Dogs: Sometimes in the warmer months, I make a half batch to layer on top of our favorite hot dog for a basic chili dog recipe.
- Cornbread: Chili and cornbread pair so well together, they are a great balance of textures. Give our Cornbread without Buttermilk recipe a try.
Top Tip
When stirring your chili it is important to really get deep in the pot to move ingredients on the bottom. This will avoid burning any of the ingredients to make the perfect homemade chilli recipe.
FAQ
Do you have questions about Stove Top Chili? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about making homemade chili.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. This chili can also be frozen for up to 3-6 months depending on your freezer style.
While a low and slow stove top method is our preferred way for reheating chili, the microwave can be used as well. Start with 50% power for 2 minutes and add 30 seconds as needed. We recommend adding a little bit of beef broth (or water) prior to heating as well.
If you prefer your chili to be thicker after everything is added to the pot, you can simmer it longer, or without the lid. Keep it on a low heat, stir occasionally to prevent sticking and cook until desired thickness.
There are many things that are great on chili. Many types of onions work well, red, white, scallions or chives all balance well and have different levels of added crunch. Adding your favorite type of cheese when the chili is still hot, allows it to melt slightly. Sour cream, avocado, jalapeños, fresh lime juice, to name a few more.
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Stove Top Chili Recipe
Equipment
- Large Pot with Lid
- Spatula
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tablespoon ground chili powder
- ½ tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 pounds ground beef lean
- 2 15- ounce cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 28- ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup strained tomatoes
Instructions
- Over medium heat, add olive oil to a large pot. When the oil is heated, add onions and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Toss in garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add chili powder, sea salt, ground cumin, ground paprika, and dried oregano, and cook for 1 minute, then add in tomato paste and mix.
- Add ground beef to the pot and cook until no longer pink.
- Pour in kidney beans, diced and strained tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook with the lid on for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Serve with freshly grated cheese, sliced green onions and a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
- If you can't find a lean ground beef and will want to drain out some of the fat, cook it first until almost pink before adding any ingredients in.
- If you do not have a lid for your pot, you will lose a good amount of moisture, but you can add some beef or vegetable broth back in if needed.
- Customize your bowl and add extra flavor with a variety of toppings to suit your tastes: shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, avocado, sliced jalapeños, and crumbled bacon just to name a few!
Nutrition
We would be so grateful for you to leave us a rating and review on any recipes you try. If you make any alterations, let us know how they turned out.
Eva Filer says
This is such a perfect recipe for cool nights. We love making it weekly, and keeping in the fridge or freezer to have when there is that chill in the air.
Jen says
I've been searching for a quick and easy yet hearty chili recipe that I can quickly whip up for the family and this hit the spot perfectly! Extra tasty with the sour cream and cheese on top too! My new go to!
Eva Filer says
Thank you so much for letting us know you and the family loved this!
Ryan says
Great recipe very delicious. This will be my new go to chilli. Thank you !
Eva Filer says
You're welcome. Thanks for the feedback, we are glad to hear you enjoyed it.